CAD Society Announces the Winner of the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award

Ken Versprille, Inventor of NURBS, to be recognized at COFES2005

BETHESDA, MD, April 4, 2005 � The CAD Society, a not-for-profit CAD industry association, today announced the winner of the 2005 CAD Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Ken Versprille was selected to receive this year�s award for his life-long dedication to the CAD industry as a top software developer and executive-level R&D manager at Computervision, his invaluable contribution of NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) to CAD technology, and as a respected industry analyst.

The CAD Society Lifetime Achievement Award is presented for a lifetime of outstanding technical and business contributions to the CAD industry. The Award will be presented at a ceremony on April 16, 2005, at The Congress on the Future of Engineering Software (COFES) in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Versprille holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the University of New Hampshire. He earned both his master's and his doctorate in computer science from Syracuse University, where he is recognized for publishing the first description of NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines), the mathematical curve and surface formulation that has become an international standard in CAD and computer graphics. During his 15 years at Computervision Corporation, he had a key role in the design of Computervision's early 3D interactive graphics system. He was also a lead architect of Computervision�s CADDS 4.

"In view of Ken�s enormously broad and important impact on the industry, the recognition accorded by this award could not be more deserved. As you look around yourself and see a world of objects that are today likely designed and manufactured using NURBS technology, it is hard to image someone who had more influence in CAD/CAM development," said Rich Riesenfeld, professor of computer science at the University of Utah. "Ken�s is a fantastic story in many ways. He followed up his technology record with a long career in management and consulting. The fact that his name is not a household word is largely due to his profoundly humble manner. He is an extraordinarily effective scientist, a tenacious promulgator of ideas, as well as a great friend and colleague to those privileged to know him."

"I can best characterize Ken Versprille as highly intelligent, modest, incorruptible, irreverent, and compassionate," said Marc Halpern, Research Director, Gartner, Inc. "He is modest about his monumental technical contributions to the CAD world. The first of those is original authorship of the Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS). Over the past 30 years, NURBS transformed CAD software; this mathematical representation of curves and surfaces became a fundamental component of today�s commercial CAD technology. Additionally, many regard Ken as the father of Computervision�s flagship CAD product families � CADDS 3 and CADDS 4. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the CADDS product line was arguably the most widely used CAD software among Fortune 1000 discrete manufacturers globally. Today, Ken remains one of the most highly respected advisors to end-users and vendors on architecture and usage of CAD software."

About COFES 

The sixth annual Congress on the Future of Engineering Software, presented by HP, will take place at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort, Scottsdale, Ariz., April 14-17, 2005. COFES, a mainstay of the engineering software industry, provides an intensive conference atmosphere where private and public discussions are held. Attendees are executives, end users, CAD and PLM vendors, analysts, and press who work together to determine, define, and clarify the business issues of engineering technologies.

COFES is an invitation-only event. 

www.cofes.com

About The CAD Society 

The CAD Society is a not-for-profit industry association with the goal of fostering community and encouraging open communication among those who make their living within the CAD industry including AEC, mechanical, manufacturing, and GIS. The CAD Society is dedicated to creating an informative community and improving the tools its members employ in order to get their jobs done. This is achieved by providing an open forum of communication, which helps to illuminate the practices of industry vendors. It has been a leader in creating interoperability guidelines that encourage software vendors to develop applications that can openly share data.

www.cadsociety.org